[snowwrestler]

Published medical prices are not real because most procedures are paid by collective programs like private insurance or Medicare, which use their bargaining power to pay less--sometimes MUCH less--than the public "list price".

You're right that the complexity of medical billing also makes it difficult to anticipate and compare prices. However, that might be more of a side effect of how the billing is done, rather than an unavoidable attribute of medical care.

Arguably, medical providers have the information and capability to package procedures and publish what it actually costs to do them. But they have no incentive to do so, and many incentives to not do so.